Photo courtesy of speedonthewater.com
The newest Hall of Fame members of the annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame class have been announced! We also remember when our very own John Tomlinson had his Hall of Fame entry debut in 2017 and the six members who joined him. Read more about the Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame below, as we congratulate the newest 2021 members.
As part of the ninth annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame class, Rob Morgan, the son of the Hall of Fame’s namesake who died in an offshore racing accident almost 10 years ago in Key West, Fla., is being inducted alongside five other notable members. At a dinner ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 24 at the Lighthouse in Sunrise Beach, Randy Kent of Marine Concepts Motorsports and Speed Racer boat fame joins the esteemed group with the longtime participant and class winner, Ivan “Buck” Stracener of Southern California, Dennis Klautzer, the pioneer of the KRMS Radio broadcast, and Advantage Marine LOTO founders and dedicated volunteers, Connie and Dave Weyer.
This year, every inductee—as has been the case with most, if not all, former class members—was surprised to learn the good news, especially Rob Morgan, who hasn’t competed in the event for more than 10 years. Completely appreciative, flattered, and shocked, Morgan was most excited to use the recognition to promote the Bob Morgan Scholarship, which is sponsored by the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers Association and designed to keep Lake Career and Technical Center students graduating from the Marine Service Technology or Metal Fabrication fields at the lake.
“I couldn’t believe it when Mark Maasen told me the news—he and I have been friends since back when dad started Big Thunder in 1987,” said Morgan, who, thanks to his father’s involvement in the Shootout from the very beginning in 1989, was able to participate and win many of his classes several different times as well as run one of the Big Thunder race boats in the memorable Big Thunder drag races. “I feel appreciative with the recognition. Obviously, Lake of the Ozarks is a special place, and the way the Shootout has recognized my dad is just extraordinary. This whole thing shakes me up a little since it’s been almost 10 years since we lost him.”
“Besides the first years of helping to start and promote the Shootout through Big Thunder, I haven’t don’t much else besides race once in a while or run the side-by-side drag race—and I haven’t done any of that the last 10 years since dad passed away in Key West,” he added. “Because of my connection with the lake—my family owns a home on mile marker 44—this is a special honor. Otherwise, I have not even come close to the real hall of Famers and other folks who have donated so much time and money to the lake area charities.”
To read the full article from Speed on the Water and to learn more about the other members inducted into the annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame, click here!
Original article posted on speedonthewater.com
